Image Protocol
Plots, screenshots, and diagrams. Right in your terminal. No window switching required.
What is Image Protocol in Chau7?
Image Protocol in Chau7 lets you display inline images directly in the terminal. Chau7 supports the iTerm2 image protocol (OSC 1337) for transmitting base64-encoded images that render inline at the cursor position.
Chau7 also supports the Kitty graphics protocol for high-performance image transmission, and Sixel graphics for programs that output Sixel-encoded raster data. Chau7 decodes the Sixel color registers and pixel data into an RGBA bitmap.
How to display images in the terminal on macOS
Chau7 displays inline images using the iTerm2 image protocol, Kitty graphics protocol, or Sixel graphics. Use tools like imgcat, viu, timg, or catimg to send an image to the terminal. Chau7 renders the image inline at the cursor position.
Chau7 decodes images on a background thread and uploads them to a Metal texture for GPU-composited display alongside text content. Both iTerm2 protocol images and Sixel graphics respect the terminal grid, occupying a calculated number of character cells based on pixel dimensions and cell size.
Which image formats does Chau7 support?
The iTerm2 image protocol in Chau7 supports PNG, JPEG, GIF (including animated GIF), BMP, TIFF, and PDF. These formats cover the vast majority of image output from data science, DevOps, and design workflows.
Sixel graphics in Chau7 produce raster output at the resolution specified by the Sixel data stream. Sixel support in Chau7 is useful for scientific computing and retro computing tools that output Sixel-encoded images.
Do images survive scrollback in Chau7?
Yes. Images in Chau7 are stored in the scrollback buffer alongside text content and remain visible when you scroll up through previous output.
Images in Chau7 are memory-mapped and released only when they scroll past the scrollback buffer limit. This means you can scroll back to review charts, diagrams, or screenshots from earlier in your session.
Does Chau7 support the iTerm2 image protocol?
Yes. Chau7 fully supports the iTerm2 image protocol (OSC 1337). Any tool that outputs iTerm2 image protocol sequences works with Chau7 out of the box.
Not all terminals support the iTerm2 image protocol. Alacritty and the default macOS Terminal.app do not render inline images. Chau7 supports the iTerm2 image protocol, Kitty graphics protocol, and Sixel graphics, making it one of the most complete image rendering implementations in a macOS terminal.
Questions this answers
- What is Image Protocol in Chau7 terminal?
- iTerm2 image protocol support in other terminals
- How to display images in the terminal on macOS
- Which image formats are supported?
- Do images survive scrollback?
Frequently asked questions
What is Image Protocol in Chau7 terminal?
Image Protocol in Chau7 lets you display inline images directly in the terminal. Chau7 supports the iTerm2 image protocol (OSC 1337), the Kitty graphics protocol, and Sixel graphics for raster output. Images are decoded on a background thread and rendered via Metal GPU compositing.
Does Chau7 support the iTerm2 image protocol?
Yes. Chau7 fully supports the iTerm2 image protocol (OSC 1337). Any tool that outputs iTerm2 image protocol sequences works with Chau7 out of the box, including imgcat, viu, timg, and catimg.
How to display images in the terminal on macOS
Chau7 displays inline images in the terminal using the iTerm2 image protocol, Kitty graphics protocol, or Sixel graphics. Use tools like imgcat to send an image to the terminal, and Chau7 renders it inline at the cursor position.
Which image formats does Chau7 support?
The iTerm2 image protocol in Chau7 supports PNG, JPEG, GIF (including animated GIF), BMP, TIFF, and PDF. Sixel graphics produce raster output at the resolution specified by the Sixel data stream.
Do images survive scrollback in Chau7?
Yes. Images in Chau7 are stored in the scrollback buffer alongside text content and remain visible when you scroll up. Images are memory-mapped and released only when they scroll past the scrollback limit.